From American Cowboy Magazine – Nov/Dec 2005
Keeping in Caricature.
Popular western artist Gene Zesch could be described as a “cowboy caricature carver,” but he is more than that. And his work is more than a mere caricature. As with Norman Rockwell’s stylized nostalgia and Charley Russell’s “painted stories,” Zesch’s artistic carvings tell stories.
Texas Gene Zesch (rhymes with “mesh”) is a Texas A&M educated fourth generation rancher turned carver. He sketches in clay to get the piece in his mind and then begins carving in wood. Casts are make of his work and translated into polychrome bronze, which he paints for limited editions. Some are photographed for posters or greeting cards.
While Russell’s bronc wrecks are bigger than life, Zesch’s ranchers are beyond skinny and devoid of anything resembling luck – witness his piece called I Guess We’ll Just Have to Tighten Our Belts Again. Rockwell’s people were exaggerated to appear more gentle or beautiful than in reality, but Zesch’s men are exaggerated the opposite way – older, uglier, craggier and poorer. Painter Bev Dolittle puts hidden images into her artworks, often dropping a clue in her titles, but for Zesch the title is an integral part of his work – something succinct and often memorable that says far more than is immediately evident.
SOmetimes the title poses a question, as in the carving depicting an environmentalist releasing a predator while the rancher alongside wonders how to protect his stock. The title says it all : Endangered Species?
Badly injured in a motorcycle accident, Zesch took a year off to recover but has rebounded with a one-man show for the National Cowboy Museum that began Oct. 22 and continues through Jan. 8.
The 73-year-old flies planes and rides motorcycles and has done pieces on these interests. He is represented by Trailside Galleries in Jackson Hole, WY and Scottsdale, AZ, as well as Lido Gallery in Park City, UT and Collector’s Covey in Dallas TX, among others.
